Crank Brothers Mallet-E Pedals – Review
The Mallet-E from Crank Brothers is the latest in the endless line of products to get an enduro-makeover.
I’ve been running a set of these on my trail bike since September, and have put in plenty of miles and given them a fair old bit of stick.
Based on the DH pedal, the Mallet, the Mallet-E has a slimmed down alloy cage with a few pins along the leading edge to add a bit of grip, along with the ribbed body. The leading lower corners are chamfered off to improve clearance and help deflect rock strikes. As you can see from the picture, they’ve been doing just that! The body gives enough support for most shoes, though softer skate-style shoes in bigger sizes will hang off the edges a bit. You can also fine tune the feel of the pedals with the replaceable central pads to change how concave the pedal feels.
The internals are totally revamped, featuring a full set of enduro bearings, protected from filth with some double seals. Everything is serviceable and replaceable, and the plastic end cap has been replaced with a metal one to ensure you can keep on servicing them without hassle. Despite three months of hosing down, soaking and grit-lube they are still spinning sweetly. Popping them open was dead easy and they were still clean inside, with no filth ingress at all. When they do need replacing CB offer a full service kits to keep you running sweet.
The supplied brass cleats are really small compared to Shimano or HT, and like all Crank Bro’s pedals offer two release options, 15 and 20 degrees depending on which way round you run the cleats. Other than that there’s no way to adjust the tightness or release of the pedals. Clipping in and out is effortless in both skate style and more racey shoes, and with the cage providing plenty of support when it’s needed. Your feet feel pretty secure but with the bit of float and twist that lovers of Crank Bros will know all too well. One slightly weird thing, that to be fair has only happened once, is if you get a big pedal strike the lower side of the pedal can be pushed open and release your foot!
These pedals have had a few hundred km of off road abuse, most of it in horrible conditions and have come out the other side looking and feeling great. If you know and love the Crank Brothers feel, and want a great pedal for trail biking, (or you DH with smaller feet perhaps?) then these are on the money.
Weight: 420g per pair.
RRP: £129.99
